Is Your iPhone Safe?

In the wake of Apple’s recent court battle, if you’re wondering whether or not your iPhone is as safe as it seems, you’re not alone. What used to be seen as a truly secure device is now being questioned across the board.

Is voice recognition and fingerprint recognition really as secure as we’d all love to believe? Here’s a closer look.

The Security of Your iPhone

Let’s apply logic to a simple scenario first. It has previously been reported that most Apple iPhone users prior to the introduction of fingerprint technology did not use any kind of password. As crazy as that may seem, that’s what the numbers showed. Once fingerprint technology was introduced, however, those people that did not have passwords did use this new technology to secure their iPhone.

Some might call it lazy, but the fact remains that fingerprint technology did make the iPhone more secure for this very basic and simple reason. But, that doesn’t mean that fingerprint technology across the board is safe or secure or better than anything else ever created. There are some issues with this tech as well.

Problems with Fingerprint Tech

The biggest issue with fingerprint technology is that it can’t be used as the only means of security. If (or when) someone figures out how to clone or rip off a fingerprint (we’ve all seen spy movies, we know how this can be done, right?), a device can be easily tapped into.

Luckily, Apple has not only added fingerprint technology but Apple devices also include passwords. So, if your fingerprint doesn’t work (when your hands are too cold, for example), the phone will automatically default to your password.

As far as voice technology goes, Apple doesn’t rely on voice recognition to unlock or lock phones, so it’s not really a concern. It’s also hard for someone else to say ‘hey Siri’ for you - there’s always the chance that you might be forced into saying it, but realistically those times are few and far between.

Is Your iPhone Safe?

Right now, yes. As Apple has shown with the current battle that the company is entrenched in, Apple will protect your devices and your privacy by not letting anyone (including the government for the time being) tap into your phone. However, this may all change if Apple is forced into creating the software that the FBI has asked the company to create. This topic is highly debated at the time of this writing, but it looks like Apple might be forced to give up passwords in the future.

Then again, if Apple will give up passwords or create software that allows government organizations to tap into Apple devices, other companies might have to do the same thing. So is your Apple device safe? Yes, for now. It’s hard to say what the future might hold, though. What’s important here is that fingerprint technology and voice recognition are relatively foolproof, so you can continue to use your Apple device without concern -- time will tell whether or not this will alway be the case.